When comparing Space Alert vs Gloomhaven, the Slant community recommends Gloomhaven for most people. In the question“What are the best board games?”Gloomhaven is ranked 3rd while Space Alert is ranked 38th. The most important reason people chose Gloomhaven is:

Each and every class represented in-game has their own deck of cards. These cards feature skills and abilities that are entirely unique to that specific class. Whether you're attacking, moving, or looting - each class carries out these actions with their own distinct style. Thanks to the sheer amount of variety offered between the classes, no two ever feel alike, and you're guaranteed to get a unique game experience based on the class you select.

Pros

Pro

Varying difficulty

Various options can be selected to alter the difficulty level of the game.

Pro

Cooperative

Space Alert is a cooperative based game, something that is not always the case for board games and can be a refreshing change.

Pro

Each game is unique

The combination of several CD tracks along with variant card combos and action options ensures that no two games will be the same.

Pro

Ranked highly on board game geek

With an average score of 7.6 out of 10 and a rank of 70, Space Alert is positively a positively reviewed board game.

Pro

No analysis paralysis

Turn speed is dictated by the CD, avoiding some players procrastinating on their turns / keeping the gameplay flowing.

Pro

Fast gameplay

Around 30 minutes per game.

Pro

Simple rules

The rules of the game are simple, where the player must take 12 turns in 10 minutes while listening to a soundtrack that explains all incoming threats.

Pro

1 - 5 players

Can be played as a single player game, or with up to 4 friends, dividing roles accordingly.

Pro

Good humour

While slightly morbid the humor contained in the game is amusing.

Pro

Sci-Fi theme

Space Alert has a sci-fi theme to it, so for those that are into more of a science fiction game, Space Alert could fit that bill.

Pro

Character classes are distinctly unique

Each and every class represented in-game has their own deck of cards. These cards feature skills and abilities that are entirely unique to that specific class. Whether you're attacking, moving, or looting - each class carries out these actions with their own distinct style. Thanks to the sheer amount of variety offered between the classes, no two ever feel alike, and you're guaranteed to get a unique game experience based on the class you select.

Pro

Intense card management

Cards in Gloomhaven represent all of your attacks and movements, as well as determine the order these actions will take place. Furthermore, every class in the game has their own unique deck of cards.

Most of the cards have unique and complex mechanics, but they all follow a simple rule when brought into play: you must choose whether to play the top action (attack) or the bottom action (movement). Once a card is played, it goes into a discard pile. However, by "resting" a few turns and sitting out of the action, you can put them back in your hand.

Managing your cards each round and trying to get a victory in every scenario can be a very intense experience. Knowing when and how to use an card in your hand results in some really tense play where some tough, on-the-fly decisions have to be made. Do you attack or move? Do you save this attack for a tougher enemy later? Is this card worth playing now? Is it worth resting to retrieve cards?, etc.

Pro

Exciting enemy encounter variations

There are a whopping 45 different enemies and 12 bosses. Each enemy in the game has their own unique stats along with combat modifiers such as additional damage. As such, each enemy acts and performs differently. Additionally, monsters can be set to various difficulty levels and scale based on how many players are in the encounter. All of this combined allows for a huge amount of variation, and keeps each encounter feeling fresh and exciting throughout numerous game sessions.

Pro

Heavy immersion in the world thanks to events

Outside of the dungeon crawling, there are Road Events and City Events that can occur. Road Events take place when traveling to a new location, whereas City Events happen when you visit the city of Gloomhaven.

These events present players with unique and interesting situations and choices, such as meeting a traveler, running into monsters, or finding a new quest. The choices you make during events also influence the course of the story and may provide you with a buff (or debuff) for your upcoming dungeon crawl.

These additional story elements help the world-building along, as they take place during what would be otherwise mundane things (such as traveling a road, or visiting town) and make it easy to stay connected and feel like you're a part of the game world at all times.

Pro

Easy to understand

Although the sheer size of the board, tons of cards, and numerous game pieces/tokens make the game appear intimidating, it is quite easy to understand the basics after a short amount of time spent playing. This is due to its clearly defined rules, detailed cards/iconography, and the clean visual presentation of the game board.

Pro

Players can join and leave at will

A game can still run at maximum efficiency, even with a "revolving door" of players.

Monsters can be set to scale based on the number of players, so if your friend suddenly has to leave mid-game, it won't be a huge detriment to the group. Players can also drop in or leave the game at any point, as it's easy to add or subtract players to the party between scenarios.

It's all the little details like this that make it a great game to play with a group of friends who all have varying amounts of availability.

Pro

Can play solo

Even if you can't find anyone to play with, the game is able to be played solo. You can still tackle events and dungeons solo, progress your character, and enjoy the story without the need for a game master or even a group to play with. This makes it a great choice when the the urge to dungeon crawl strikes, but nobody is available for a long play session.

Cons

Con

Requires CD player with speakers

Space Alert is only playable with the included audio CD or downloadable MP3's, without them the game is impossible to play.

Con

Takes a long time to set up

Setting up the board between each scenario is very time consuming as pieces have to be carefully arranged according to diagrams, cards have to be shuffled and placed into multiple piles, and character boards have to be configured. This process tends to take much longer than other similar board games.

Con

Cumbersome game box

The game box is huge and all the pieces don't always fit neatly back inside. This could make transporting the game a hassle. It's heavy, large, and has many various parts and pieces.

Con

Expensive due to being out of print

This game, while popular, is no longer in print. If you're looking to add it to your collection, you should be able to find it on Amazon or various board game hobby sites, but it normally carries a high price tag.

Con

Not good for short gaming sessions

While it's possible to play one scenario at a time, the story and encounters are best appreciated and experienced as a full campaign which will play out over several long sessions. Additionally, the board takes quite a while to set up between scenarios, which isn't great when you only have limited time to play.

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